Portable computing used to be prohibitively expensive and solely the preserve of those with fat wallets, but prices on notebook PCs have been steadily falling over the past few years.

As prices have come down, so interest in notebook PCs has risen and nobody can blame the PC buying public for falling in love with these miniature wonders.

They're small enough to store on a shelf and are ideal for plonking down in front of the TV so you can keep an eye on EastEnders, yet can just as easily be taken to a quiet room or study when you've got serious work to do.

We thought it was time to see what you could get your hands on for less than a grand. With the average price of a notebook hovering between £1,500 and £2,000, we were asking a lot to find good quality notebooks within this price range but we were surprised - we found some real take-away treasures.

HI-GRADE ASUS NOTINO AS8200
Notebook PCs at the budget end of the market are usually a little bulky but not so with the slimline Asus Notino. Size can be a problem though, as equipment must be removed in order to keep things small.

There's no built-in CD-Rom drive for a start. Instead, an external DVD-Rom/CD-RW combination unit connects to the rear. This does make it light to carry but having two things to carry rather than one can be a pain.

The 13.1in screen is also poor, having a maximum resolution of just 800 x 600 pixels. Worryingly, it also tends to flex rather a lot, especially if you apply pressure to the bottom of the lid. We weren't keen on the keyboard either as it tends to bow in the middle as you type.

It's not all bad though. There are two PC Card slots and the VGA port means you can easily connect the notebook PC to an external monitor. Connectivity options are also good thanks to a built-in 56K modem, network port and infrared port for connecting to your mobile phone.

Because the machine is so small and only has an 800MHz Intel Celeron processor, we expected it to be sluggish and our benchmark tests bore this out. However, the 20Gb hard disk is roomy and the 192Mb of memory is good.

Although we loved the sleek looks and slimline design of the Hi-Grade, it lacks the power to make it a contender here. If you really need a very small and portable notebook PC then it's worth a look but otherwise, we'd advise you to look elsewhere.

Price: £900
Contact: 0800 074 0402
www.higrade.com

IRIDIUM STARBOOK 505
We were a bit disappointed by the Starbook 505. It has a very dated appearance and the dull, metal-look plastic leaves you with no illusions about whether this is a budget notebook PC or not.

Things aren't helped by the fact that there's a fixed floppy disk drive. We felt the space could have been used for something more up to date. In fact there are no removeable drive bays at all as the CD-Rom drive is also a fixed unit.

The cost-cutting doesn't stop there. The keyboard flexes in the centre and the machine has a very noisy processor fan that pretty much negates the fact that Iridium has fitted a silent 20Gb Fujitsu hard disk. The lack of PC Card slots means the notebook PC is also limited in terms of expansion potential.

The machine's speakers sounded very tinny too. The 128Mb of memory is also no better than passable for a Windows XP Home computer.

On the plus side, there are PS/2 ports for connecting an external keyboard or mouse and a VGA port so you can hook the notebook up to an external monitor. Connectivity to the outside world is via the built-in 56K modem and network port. There are also two USB ports and a printer port.

We were worried because this is the first time a PC has refused to install and run our lab tests. This is not a good sign. However, it didn't seem sluggish thanks to its 1.3GHz Celeron processor.

That said, there's very little to recommend this. It looks dated, has limited expansion potential and its features list pales in comparison with the other models in this test. It is around £100 cheaper than the other notebook PCs but, despite this, it still doesn't represent good value for money.

Price: £782
Contact: 0870 066 0222
www.iridium-uk.com

MESH PEGASUS 14.1in GT PLUS
The increasing power of notebook PC processors has meant that portable computers are now almost powerful enough to challenge desktop machines on performance and features. If evidence of this were needed then you'd only have to look at the Pegasus 14.1in GT Plus from Mesh.

The keyboard is solid, the sound via the stereo speakers falls on the better side of average for notebooks and the easily accessible hardware volume control is a nice touch.

Move to the front of the case, however, and things become more interesting. Mesh has managed to fit a mini-FireWire port right at the front edge of the Pegasus and this, combined with the powerful AMD Athlon XP 1600+ mobile processor and 20Gb hard disk, means that it could be used for editing videos on the go.

The mobile processor should also help preserve battery life when on the move. For more mundane office tasks, Mesh has also included a copy of the excellent Lotus SmartSuite.

We were pleased to see a decent 256Mb of memory, which is plenty to keep Windows XP Home running smoothly, and connectivity options are good with a built-in 56K modem and network port.

On top of this, the notebook PC has built-in WiFi capability so, if you invest in some wireless kit for your home, you'll be able to connect to the internet from anywhere in your house without the need for cables.

Overall, apart from the fact that Mesh has only included a standard CD-Rom drive, not a DVD-Rom or CD-RW drive, we really can't fault this machine. For the price it has an amazing range of features, looks great and is a solid performer. It looks a proper bargain.

Price: £900
Contact: 0870 046 4747
www.meshplc.com

PACKARD BELL iGo 4450
The iGo exudes class from the minute you open the lid. Looking dapper in its sophisticated sliver and dark grey colour scheme, it certainly has an expensive feel despite the fact it weighs in at a budget price.

The semi-translucent keyboard is comfortable to type on for long periods mainly because it is very rigid, not flexing in the middle like some of the other models on test.

Connectivity on the iGo is good too. On the left-hand side of the case is a VGA connector so you can hook up to an external monitor. Packard Bell has also provided an S-Video output so you can watch movie DVDs on a TV rather than the 14.1in screen.

It has a built-in DVD-Rom/CD-RW combination drive, which is very good for the price. You'll have no trouble connecting to the internet either, thanks to its 56K modem and network port.

There's also an infrared port so you could use the notebook PC to connect to a mobile phone to pick up email while on the road.

There are no PS/2 mouse or keyboard connectors but there are four USB ports. Even if you hook up a USB keyboard and mouse, you'll still have two ports free for other peripherals such as a scanner and printer.

This was the second Celeron-based notebook PC that refused to run our labs speed tests so we couldn't check its performance. On paper, the 1.5GHz Celeron processor should provide plenty of performance.

Packard Bell has been a little stingy on memory by only offering 128Mb but at least the 20Gb hard disk is roomy.

The graphics performance in our tests was very good compared with the others on test. We were pleased to see the comprehensive Microsoft WorksSuite 2002 as part of the software bundle.

Overall, the Packard Bell is a great notebook PC for the price but it really needs more memory to keep Windows XP happy for a few years to come.

Price: £899
Contact: 01628 512 400
www.packardbell.co.uk

TIME TRAVELLER P4-Cel 1700
Time really is offering a lot of bang for your buck with the Traveller P4-Cel 1700. It's got a features list longer than that of many desktop machines, making it a real powerhouse of a notebook PC.

It feels well built and looks professional in its silver casing. The keyboard doesn't suffer any of the flexing that tends to plague budget notebook PCs and, although it's set a touch far forward for our liking, it's still comfortable to type on.

There's also a set of programmable keys at the very top of the keyboard that can be set up to launch favourite applications via a single button press.

Like most notebooks in the test, the speakers are average but we liked the fact that there is a hardware volume control. The Traveller follows the lead of the Mesh Pegasus by having a mini-FireWire port right at the front edge of the case.

If you've got a digital camcorder, you'll find that the combination of the Celeron 1.7GHz processor and 20Gb hard disk means you can edit home movies without having to touch a desktop machine.

We were pleased to see that Time has budgeted for a decent 256Mb of memory too, as we feel Windows XP Home needs at least this amount to run smoothly. Connectivity options are also good with its built-in 56K modem and network port.

Overall we were very impressed with the Traveller. It represents excellent value for money and, unlike the Mesh, its DVD-Rom drive reads DVDs as well as CDs. At the price, it's a steal.

Price: £875
Contact: 0870 830 3101
www.timecomputers.com

Take note
When dishing out awards we were left with a difficult task. We felt three of the notebooks on test offered excellent value for money: the Mesh, Packard Bell and Time.

The slick styling of the Packard Bell really impressed us but we felt the meagre 128Mb of memory was not sufficient for a modern notebook.

As notebook PCs borrow main system memory for the graphics chips, there was in fact only 92Mb left for the operating system. We felt this was far too little for a Windows XP computer.

Memory has a much bigger impact on the day-to-day performance of a machine than a faster processor and this meant we really wanted to see 256Mb of memory on XP machines. Both the Time and Mesh machines rose to this challenge and so the real battle was between these heavyweights.

For budget notebook PCs, these models have an astounding list of features and we were especially impressed by the appearance of FireWire on both machines.

The deciding factor, however, was the optical drive. Although the Mesh does have wireless networking, this has been included at the expense of a DVD-Rom drive and we felt the average user would get more benefit from DVD capability than the wireless networking and CD-Rom drive on the Mesh.

It was a close run competition but in the end it's the Time that's walking away with the top honours.